Remember, the version of iOS 12 in people’s hands for testing right now is only beta 1. Apple always iterates on stability and performance through the summer ahead of public release in the fall. What’s rather remarkable about this year, is that many people are seeing better performance on iOS 12 beta 1 than on the shipping versions of iOS 11.4. There is the occasional glitch or layout bug, but in general it looks like Apple is on a great path here.

Even Apple’s latest devices see noticeable improvements like more responsive scrolling, but the big wins are on older iPhones and iPads like iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. I asked on Twitter what people’s first impressions were of using iOS 12 on older hardware and the results were unanimously positive, with several people echoing the sentiment that it actually makes their old devices usable again.

I’m glad that Apple’s claims are proving true in real world testing. iOS 12 looks like it’s going to be a big deal for owners of older devices.